


Salida

by thisismydesign



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-26 04:16:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4989865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisismydesign/pseuds/thisismydesign
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike’s parents sent him away to live with Sam’s family during the summer in the hopes that honest hard work would be enough to straighten him out. Mike had never been one for small towns, but he’s always been good at making something out of nothing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Salida

It wasn’t that Mike was a necessarily unruly child, or even a bad one at that. It was that he had a sharp tongue and an affinity for getting himself into trouble with people with more authority than him. He was brilliant, in fact, but the way he would act in school might suggest to someone that his marks had been low. Not showing up for classes, talking back, distinctly going against school policy because those rules weren’t for _him_ , those rules for _regular_ people.

Turns out he was wrong. Those rules were also definitely included him.

It was originally his mother’s suggestion to send him away for the summer. She had good family friends that lived in a small town in Colorado who ran an independent ranch. ‘ _Honest hard work’_ , his father had told him. Mike wasn’t unfamiliar with the family, he had met Sam several times before. Their mother’s were childhood friends and while at one point Mike might have even went as far as to say he might have had a crush on the blonde, that had long since faded from both age and distance. Mike didn’t have time for a simple small town girl, anyway. The hustle and bustle of the city beckoned him. The high buildings and crowded streets were his stomping ground. Mike figured that wasn’t going to be the case for long.

Mike didn’t fight with his parents not to make him go. He didn’t argue or refuse to leave. He wouldn’t allow them to have the satisfaction of knowing that his punishment had actually upset him. Originally, he had big plans for that summer. His fling with Emily last year had gone pretty well and he wanted to test the waters with Jess. After all, Mike knew that she was interested by the way she acted whenever he was around or the way she laughed at even the simplest of his jokes. It wouldn’t be hard to get her to fall for him, Mike figured.

Guess that was a plan for another day, though. Mike wondered if he’d meet some girl there that he might be able to hit if off with. Did small towns have pretty girls? He desperately hoped that it wouldn’t be one of those summers where he and his hand became particularly close. Mike hadn’t had to rely on himself for that sort of comfort since puberty had hit him.

“You can go to bed whenever you want, but we wake up at five so keep that in mind,” Sam told him one of the first nights Mike arrived to the ranch. It was a big place, bigger than Mike had imagined it to be. For some reason in his mind he was the image of some dinky little barn with maybe a couple of cows, but then again, Mike had never seen a ranch before. The rows of horse stables, acres of land, and pastures that stretch for what seemed to be eons was almost overwhelming. The work they had made him do the next day had also been overwhelming and though he was far from unfit, his muscles just didn’t seem to want to adapt to back breaking work, and his skin just couldn’t seem to accept the hot beaming sun no matter how much sunscreen he put on.

Sam wanted to say something cliche like ‘ _not so bad for a city slicker_ ’ once the first week of work had come to an end, but by the agony that Mike seemed to be in she figured it might be in bad taste. “Not so bad, right?” Sam decided on saying instead, taking a seat next to Mike in the bedroom he was given for the the summer. Mike wasn’t even able to give her a honest response, just side eye her venomously while he relished in a soft comforter beneath his aching muscles.

“It isn’t all bad,” Sam continued. “The first week is always the hardest and you have the weekend off to do whatever you’d like.”

“What’s there to even do here?” Mike asked her. Southern California had several things to do that appealed to people his age from amusement parks, to concerts, the beach, and just wondering around the city. From what he could tell all people did here was ride horses, and Mike was pretty sure that if he ever saw another horse for the rest of his life it would be too soon. Wishful thinking, though.

“What, you don’t know how to have fun without dropping a couple hundred bucks?” Sam joked, punching his shoulder playfully. It wasn’t hard, but maybe Mike was just weak because it felt painful. “You can come and hang out with my friends and me.”

“Oh joyous day,” Mike replied bitterly.

Turned out that Mike had a thing or two to learn about assuming things because Sam’s friends had ended up to be actually pretty normal. At least, not what Mike had in mind when he left with her to go meet them. The Washington’s were arguably the most like him, their father was some big named producer in Hollywood that Mike had actually heard of before and they were able to bond over the being from that area. Like Mike, they were only there for the summer as their vacation destination, which was what originally informed him that there had been a lot more to do in the area then Mike originally thought.

There was Ashley and Chris, two of the more nerdy or geeky people in Sam’s little group. Ashley didn’t talk much to him for whatever reason Mike wasn’t entirely sure, but she was nice and he found her to be pretty cute. Chris was super awkward, but he was a cool guy Mike found. They didn’t have similar hobbies or interests, but he was pretty well rounded.

Probably the most like him was Matt, though. He was the high school jock of the town that everyone seemed to know and recognize. Which wasn’t hard, Mike assumed, when there was only a permanent population of a little over five thousand year round and maybe eight thousand seasonally. It couldn’t be all too difficult to make a name for yourself if you were the one who kept hypothetically bringing home the gold in the entire county, but Mike soon found out that he Matt was easily breaching top ten best players in the whole state, which was pretty impressive. 

Though there ended up being a lot of choices in regards to what to do in the area, a lot of them were admittedly outdoorsy activities like hiking, river rafting, kayaking, and even God forsaken horseback riding. Mike was secretly thankful that Chris didn’t like doing anything too strenuous, which automatically ruled out a lot of their options without Mike having to be the one to say something. His body still ached from that week, he wasn’t ready to take on an eight mile hike and apparently you needed years of experience to kayak on a river. Instead, they chose to just hangout at the river by one of the bigger swimming holes that not too many people occupied. Mike was use the the ocean but he had never expected a river to be nearly as cold as it had been. Getting in was a shock that was apparently pretty obvious since the face he made caused the others to laugh.

“Well, it is snow melt,” Matt teased him about, which earned the jock a dirty look and ultimately sparked the rivalry between them.

Mike found that no matter how long you stayed inside of a running river, you would never get use to the frigid temperatures, but it was worth being drag into when he pushed Matt off the large jumping rock. The freezing water was enough to knock the wind out of him, but Mike took comfort in knowing that Matt was more shocked about it happening then he was.

Sam had scolded them both after that, lecturing Mike on river safety that he only half heartily absorbed. Josh found it hilarious, calling Mike a prank master but not without adding, ‘ _just not as good as me_ ’ at the end. Mike wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted to put that to the test.

The weekend went a lot faster from that point on. The next day the Washington siblings didn’t join them, having to go off to do something with their parents, so they chose to a more domestic activity and showed Mike around the town. Chris didn’t care much for shopping so opted out of going, it wasn’t that he didn’t like Mike, but blogging just seemed a lot more interesting. Ashley went home fairly early into their outing which left Mike, Sam, and Matt.

The town didn’t go without it’s charm and Mike could see why it was a tourist trap most time of the year. A lot of little cafes and boutiques and several different galleries with the large river running eloquently through it. However, it was small and it didn’t take a while to see just about everything with the exception of maybe the chain stores and a few public parks.

“We should head back,” Sam declared when she realized they had been wondering around the same streets for a couple of hours and looking at the same shops. The conversation was engaging enough, she found that Mike and Matt really hit it off even though much of their conversation of banter. She was glad, maybe it would make Mike’s stay more comfortable.

“Already?” Mike asked. He didn’t want to go back to the ranch, it felt like he had just left it and he knew that once he did get back he would eventually turn in for the night and get up to another grueling week of hard work.

“Well I mean there isn’t much left to do,” Sam told him. She wouldn’t be against continuing to walk around in conversation but even that was beginning to feel repetitive to her.  


“Oh, well I can take him back later if he still wants to chill,” Matt said maybe a little too eagerly. He didn’t have anything better to do, well, except maybe the summer school homework he had been putting off for days now. Matt wasn’t about to tell Sam that.

Sam shrugged. “Alright, sounds good to me. You crazy cats don’t get up to too much trouble,” she joked before bidding her farewells and heading off towards her car and them eventually back home.

“There isn’t really anything else do to,” Matt admitted meekly once Sam left and he had realized she was correct. Mike shrugged at this nonchalantly.

“Doing whatever beats being at the ranch,” he ensured Matt. “Trust me.”

Matt showed Mike the little hole in the wall places of the town such as the big green hill that the town would gather on during Fourth of July to watch the fireworks being lit off. Mike told Matt that he is suppose to go back to LA on the tenth, and he realized that Mike would be there for that so he made a promise to bring him, which Mike found to be an oddly sentimental invitation but agreed to go nonetheless. 

There was the old abandoned mill that Mike wanted to check out and Matt had agreed, though he knew it was heavily off limits. Then there was the old decommissioned train tracks that ran along side it the river, which they ended up walking. 

“You really never been out of this town then?” Mike asked Matt, somewhat unnerved by the idea of being so isolated among such a small group of people. 

“Well yeah I have. I’ve played games in Colorado Springs and Denver,” Matt told him. “But other than that not really. Don’t worry, I’ll get out of this place once the NFL recruits me.”

It wasn’t until late that Matt brought Mike back to the ranch. Navigating their way on the the train tracks in the dark had been difficult and Mike had tripped nearly a dozen times, after the eighth time though Matt had stopped making fun of him. Sam had told him earlier that week that we was allowed to go to bed whenever he wanted, but he would still be waking up at five in the morning just like the rest of them. The idea of getting up early wasn’t a nice one, but Mike didn’t regret it. Spending time with Matt was somewhat refreshing compared to what he was use to. No implications, not expectations, but simple conversation from a simple, down to earth guy.

Sam wasn’t lying when she said that the first week was always the hardest, because while his body still ached from the prior week’s work, Mike found that his list of tasks became more routine and easier to accomplish. He saw a lot more of the Washington girl, Hannah he recalled, around the ranch and distantly wondered if there was something between her and Sam, but he didn’t dwell too much on it. His mind was usually occupied between work, the occasional text to Jess and Em, and the several text messages to Matt.

Plans were constantly being made and Mike found himself getting through his work quickly so that he could hang out that night with Matt. Once or twice he was scolded on leaving his work rushed or unfinished, which he made sure to be more careful about. Sam’s parents didn’t put any real restrictions on him, so he didn’t want to give them a reason to. As far as he knew, they knew that Matt was a pretty straight edged kid with a good head on his shoulders. Once Mike had overheard Sam’s mom talking to his own on the phone about how Mike had ‘ _made a friend_ ’ and that he was ‘ _a good influence on the boy_ ’.

“President is kind of ambitious,” Matt told Mike one evening, again hanging out beside the river there the water banked up on a sandy shore. It was cold as ever and Mike was pretty sure they were both being eaten up by mosquitoes but it wasn’t something he couldn’t ignore in favor of Matt’s company.

  
“You don’t think I can do it?” Mike teased.

“No, no I think you could,” Matt agreed, picking up a rock that had been flattened by decades and decades of running water passing over it. He skipped it over the river until it hit a rapid and plummeted to the bottom where Mike figured it would probably stay for decades and decades more.

“Just have to get my act together, try a bit more at school, apply to some colleges, and wha-la, your future president right here Mike Munroe,” Mike said in an matter-of-fact and rather hotheaded tone that should it be anyone else might have annoyed Matt, but instead just made him smile. 

“Yeah I’m pretty sure it’s a bit more work then that,” Matt replied searching for another flat rock. “That’s why you’re here, then? To get your act together?” Matt knew that this wasn’t probably not Mike’s destination vacation spot and he also distantly knew that he wasn’t here because he wanted to, but it had never been something that came up in conversation or that he figured he should ask. If it was serious then Mike had a right to keep it to himself, but if it wasn’t then maybe he would tell Matt. Matt was somewhat curious what had brought Mike to his little town.

Even before they were remotely close Mike seemed larger than life, and now that Matt knew the other man a bit more he could confirm that he definitely was. Mike was the sort of guy that Matt didn’t meet, the sort of guy who had a more important and impressive life path with different opportunities, and a different direction. The sort of guy that should Matt get the privilege of meeting, he would be gone almost as quick.

“I don’t see how sending your kid off to some farm helps them get their act together,” Mike said. Matt was able to pick up on an almost dejected tone in Mike’s voice. “Nah, I think they were just tired of hearing about the shit I got into or caused or whatever so they wanted a break.”

“Parents can suck,” Matt comments, unsure what to say but felt better when Mike nodded in agreement with a small ‘yup’. Matt handed Mike the smooth stone he had eventually found. There was a certain technique to skipping stones on running water that Mike just hadn’t picked up, but hopefully by the end of the summer he’d be able to do it even better then Matt could.

The weeks continued to pass. At times it was extremely slowly, such as when Mike was working, but for the most part they moved quickly. He could recall most of his time spend with Matt in great detail while everything else was mostly a blurry mesh of mundane activities. Sam had finally convinced Mike to go on that eight mile hike which Ashley and Chris promptly opted out of, though the others were into it. Mike never got around to kayaking on the river, but they had got a raft once. He still wasn’t use to the chilly waters.

They branched out of the town more as well. Matt showed him surrounding nearby spots and a few out of the way mountain towns. At one point Mike had been able to convince Matt to go to Denver as well, which had been a lot of fun. It was nice being in the city again and Matt had finally understood how much Mike thrived in the environment. It was no LA, but it was still something big, and fast, and in a way comfortably overwhelming. Mike belonged in the city and it was painfully obvious to Matt.

Mike eventually found out that his definition of camping and Sam and her friend’s definition of camping varied drastically one day when Josh suggested they should go. There was no cabin, or resort, or even a trailer to stay in. It was just the solid wilderness and a couple of tents, all the supplies they brought was only what could be carried up the mountain on there back and the sudden realization that Mike would be without running water for two whole days was a tough pill to swallow. Still, he had found a way to enjoy himself none the less.

Each tent could fit two or three people. Ashley and Sam took a tent, the twins took another, Josh and Chris had one, which left Mike and Matt to share. The group was quickly beginning to discover that Mike and Matt were becoming almost as close Chris and Josh were. _Almost_.

The hike to the destination was long and rigorous and took them nearly two hours to get to but the view was well worth it and that hadn’t stopped Josh, who was by far the biggest partier in the group, from trekking enough booze for everyone up the mountain. Sam had expressed her concern for everyone getting drunk in the middle of a forest, on a mountain, but it hadn’t stop her or anyone else from partaking. Mike learned that night that putting up tents buzzed in the dark was nearly impossible, but he also learned that Matt was a huge cuddlier and that in the cold night altitude with nothing but a couple sleeping bags, that was something that was widely appreciated.

The bonfire they had set up earlier still roared outside their tent as Josh and Chris had yet to retire for the night. Matt was one of the first to go lay down when it became painfully clear that he couldn’t handle his alcohol nearly as well as the others. Mike could hear Beth and Hannah talking quietly in their tent, giggling as drunk girls tended to do while he watched at the light from the fire flicker and lick the outside of his tent from where he lay inside it.

Matt lay beside him and Mike wondered briefly if he was asleep, but his drunk thoughts trailed off to focus on something else before he could check. June was coming to and end, it would be July in less then two days. He would be going home soon. Was Matt still going to bring him to go see the fireworks with him? It sounded just as cheesy to Mike now as it had when Matt first offered to take him.

The rustling of a tent and the loud clangs of two drunk people making their way through the dark suggested that Josh and Chris had decided to turn in for the night as well. Mike was glad to know that even completely wasted they were smart enough to throw a bit of water onto the fire, though it still, in a way, died out naturally. Mike didn’t mind that as enjoyed listening to the low, quiet pops, and watching the fractured lights leave long shadows against his and Matt’s tent.

Matt stretched a bit to get comfortable, which answered Mike’s earlier question on whether or not he was awake. His head tipped back slightly against Mike’s shoulder and he wondered at what point they had moved so close to one another. Short brown hair tickled at Mike’s jaw, and despite his best efforts Mike reached his arm out and placed it on Matt’s arm more timid than be had ever been in his life, before sliding it down over the curve of Matt’s hip.

Mike noticed the subtle change in Matt’s breathing, it no longer being smooth and even  and then the he made a soft, tired noise before arching his back against Mike. It was an unspoken invitation and it only encourage Mike more. Matt yawned and laid his head back against Mike with the intention of leaning against him this time rather than accidentally brushing against his tent-mate. Mike ran his hand up Matt’s side, running his fingers along the the shape lines of his chest, his flatten palm resting against Matt’s chest which Mike used to pull him closer.

The was a moment of quiet tension where questions went unspoken between the two of them. _Can I go on? Am I reading this wrong? What does this mean? Are we just drunk?_ Mike pressed his mouth experimentally against Matt’s neck and Matt made no effort to stop him. This was very much uncharted territory for the both of them but every aspect about it felt natural. Mike dragged kisses down Matt’s neck and despite himself, bit a mark into the slope of Matt’s shoulder. An area that was easily covered by a t-shirt if it was necessary. Matt didn’t seem to mind, in fact he exposed his neck more and hooked a foot around Mike’s ankle. Matt’s hand trailed up toward his own chest where he found Mike’s hand and intertwined their fingers.

Mike’s eyes had long since adjusted to the dim lighting of the tent, which was only growing ever more dark with the fire dying slowly outside, but he could still make out the hard plain of Matt’s chest and the soft trail of hair beneath his navel, which disappeared into the seams of Matt’s sweat pants. Mike buried his face against Matt’s hair, his lips ghosting over the shell of the Matt’s ear. Mike knew better then to let himself get close, that he was only going to leave in the end. It was a tight and sharp empty feeling that knotted his chest. Mike decided that this must be what it felt like to lose someone.

Unexpectedly, Matt moved against Mike’s chest, turning his body to face the other. It was a quick movement that both of them, including Matt, took a moment to register. Face to face, fingers still tangled together, they were forced to see what was happening. Mike knew he was drunk, but he had never felt quite so sober before. Or afraid. Or uncertain.

Mike asked to kiss Matt by pressing his lips against the other, his tongue sliding along the bottom of his lip and catching it in between his teeth. Matt’s hand gripped Mike’s more fiercely and he leaned into the kiss, willing all the unspoken connotations to be registered to the other man without Matt having to officially say any of them out loud. Matt thought about the month ending, about Mike leaving, he thought about all those evenings that were originally spent with the other man being empty. He wondered this is how an addict feels when they become sober. Like life is more dull. As if there is more time than usual. Like there isn’t enough distractions in the world that make up for it being gone.

Mike rolled Matt onto his back, which Matt went willingly allowing the older man to lean above him and straddle his hips. The kiss went unbroken, in fact had only become more desperate as the two become more comfortable in what was happening. Mike pinned the hand he held above Matt’s head and use the other one to run across his collar bone, down his chest, over his stomach. Finger tips brushed against the short hairs below Matt’s navel as he dipped his hand beneath the waist of Matt’s sweats where Mike proceeded to take the other man into his hand.

Matt knotted his fingers into Mike’s hair and bit his lip the moment their mouths broke apart in an effort not to make any noise. It wasn’t an important denominator to Matt but he was still acutely aware of the other’s presence being less then a hundred feet away. It would be rude to wake them, not to mention embarrassing, but the way Mike is moving his mouth against his throat and the way his hand is wrapped around his cock, Matt found himself struggling to keep quiet.

The shakiness of Matt’s hips are what gave away how close he was to Mike. He made an effort to draw it out, to make Matt feel as good as he possible can. He doesn’t want Matt to forget what this feels like to be this close to Mike, to feel the the heat from his skin against his own, to be brought to this point of ecstasy. Mike hoped that Matt can never forget how it feels to be against his hand, how he gasped sharply and how his body shuddered, how he spills over Mike’s knuckles.

They were completely silent. The cracking of the fire had almost come to a complete stop. Despite the post orgasm ringing in his ears, Matt could distinctly hear the individual rustling of thousands of leaves being brushed by the night breeze outside of the tent. He realized he has holding his breath and squeezing his eyes closed. Once he allowed himself the breathe he had also allowed himself to look up at Mike. It was so dark that it had been difficult to make out all the features, but it was a face that Matt had memorized and he knew he didn’t need light for him to see it.

“ _Don’t_ ,” Matt muttered so quietly that he himself almost didn’t here it. “Don’t go back.”

If he could, Mike would have listened to him and stayed with Matt forever, whether it be in the dark of their tent, at the bank of the river, or on the hill they were going to watch fireworks together. Mike would stay with Matt in this tiny nobody town and become tiny nobody with him. But he couldn’t, and Matt knew that Mike would go back to the city where he belonged. That the name of his tiny town would be forever forgotten to him, but Matt wondered if he would have been big enough to scar geography.

 

**Author's Note:**

> My last ao3 was deleted but im back yo  
> come send me request/prompts at my tumblr butwhereismatt


End file.
